Artistic Directors Jon Cristofori and Kathleen Sinclair

Jon Cristofori began his dance training on Cape Cod with Jane Gay Stevens. As a high school student, he spent his summers at the renowned dance festival, Jacob's Pillow. A recipient of a Ford Foundation Scholarship, Jon traveled to Washington D.C. to continue his studies at the National Ballet of Washington, under the direction of Frederick Franklin. For five years, Jon was a member of the City Center Joffrey Ballet Company, where he performed major roles in Green Table, Viva Vivaldi, Con Amore, Cello Concerto and Olympics and many others.

When a major back injury took him out of the NY dance scene, Jon began concentrating on a teaching career. He has taught at private studios and several colleges and universities around the U.S., including Virgina-Intermont College, Birmingham-Southern College and the University of New Mexico. He has also been resident choreographer for the Flint Institute of Music and the Former Arizona Metropolitan Ballet Company and over the years has choreographed more than fifty original ballets. In 1996 his ballet, Romantic Pieces, was given the National Choreography Award at the Regional Dance America/Pacific Festival in Provo, Utah. His ballet, Duendes Del Fuego, was performed at the first ever RDA National Festival in Houston, Texas, in June, 1997, and received recognition in the December '97 issue of DanceMagzine. At the Pacific Festival 2000, in Modesto, California, Jon had two Ballets chosen for gala performance: Pulse, performed by Ballet Yuma and Spirals, performed by Tucson Regional Ballet.

From 1982-1993, Jon and his wife, Kathleen Sinclair, directed the Yuma Ballet theatre, taking this small performing group to its first regional ballet festival in 1986 building it into a Regional Dance America Honor Company by 1990, In the fall of 19993, Jon and his wife opened their own ballet school, Yuma Ballet Academy in Yuma, Arizona and with a group of dedicated supporters organized Ballet Yuma. Ballet Yuma has been recognized as an Honor company by Regional Dance America. Their students have received numerous awards and scholarships and are dancing in professional companies today, including the San Francisco Ballet, Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, Miami City Ballet, Texas Ballet Theatre, Sacramento Ballet and Ballet Memphis.

Jon has served on the board for Regional Dance America/Pacific. He has also twice been a grant panelist for the Arizona Commission for the Arts. In the spring of 2000, Jon served as the adjudictor for the Mid-States Regional Dance America Festival.

Kathleen Sinclair began her training in Michigan City, Indiana, as a child performing with the Studio Concert Company. She was a member of various regional ballet companies including Ballet Etudes, Arizona Metropolitan Ballet Company, and Theatre Ballet of San Francisco.

From 1982-1993, Kathleen and her husband, Jon, directed Yuma Ballet Theatre, taking this small performing group to its first regional ballet festival in 1986, and built it into a Regional Dance America Honor company by 1990. I the fall of 1993, Kathleen and Jon opened their own ballet school, Yuma Ballet Academy in Yuma, Arizona and with a group of dedicatedsupporters organized Ballet Yuma. Ballet Yuma has been recognized as an Honor company of Regional Dance America. Their students have received numerous awards and scholarships and are dancing in professional companies today, including the San Franscisco Ballet, Miami City Ballet, Sacramento Ballet and Ballet Memphis.

Kathleen has taught for the past twenty-two years and has developed a syllabus specifically for the first four years fo a child's ballet studies. She has also created a pre-ballet syllabus for 2-6 year olds. Kathleen has brought ballet to inner-city school children in New Haven, CT, as well as elementary school children here in Yuma. She worked with the Crane Elementary School District in their Project Success program for at risk 4th graders. For the past five years, Kathleen has created the Ballet Bound Project in conjunction with Yuma School District #1. This outreach discovery program has been generously supported by grants from the Arizona Commission on the Arts and the City of Yuma Arts and Cultural Commission.

Kathleen is on the Executive Board of Directors for Regional Dance America/Pacific. She has also served twice as a grant panelist for the Arizona Commission on the Arts.